Speaking of reading here is the next chapter. This is really helping me absorb the info so hope you don't mind

Chapter 6: Sugar, Fat, and Salt are Reinforcing
-rewarding foods tend to be reinforcing, meaning that they keep us coming back for more.
-scientists ask 2 questions to determine whether animals find a substance reinforcing: are they willing to work to obtain it, and do they respond to other stimuli they've learned to associate with that food
- by these criteria, sugar, fat and salt are clearly reinforcing
-we once thought that in the absence of hunger, food could not serve as an effective reward. That idea proved to be wrong. During experiments, animals will work for foods that are high in sugar and fat even if they are not hungry.
-Animals are willing to work even harder for foods that are high in sugar AND fat. The combination of fat and sugar is a strong reinforcer. The breaking point at which animal will no longer work for the reward (as the work gets to hard) is slightly lower than the breaking point for cocaine. Animals are willing to work almost as hard to get either one.
-scientists have been able to determine that in products combining sugar, fat, and flavoring;sugar exerts the greatest influence.
-Fat is also reinforcing, but calorie for calorie, sucrose is the dominant factor
-the power of high sugar, high-fat foods is further amplified as cues become associated with them
-Cues such as the location where the food has previously been available and the events associated with past consumption can also become reinforcers. (making you want to eat more)
-In time, these cues become as important in food-seeking behaviour as the food itself. For example a bowl of M & M's cam be reinforcing before I touch a single one. The visual cue of seeig the M& Ms makes you want one before you even have one.
-cues associated with the pleasure response demand our attention, motivate our behaviour, and stimulate the urge we call "wanting". When those cues are present , we learn to pursue food with greater vigor to secure the expected reward.
- With experience, the assocation between cues and food becomes stronger, we pursue the food more frequently, and the resulting pleasure leads us to repeat the behaviour. A cyle of cue-urge-reward is set in motion and eventually becomes a habit.
-in animal studies, animals prefer places where they had been exposed to foods high in sugar or fat in the past
-For humans, too, location is one of the most potent cues. eg. passing the mall where you know you''ll find a New York Fries and you experience a desire that you didn't have a moment ago
Conclustion of this chapter:
-evidence that high-sugar, high-fat foods are reinforcing, comes from 2 key findings in animal studies. 1) animals are willing to work harder for those foods and 2) the foods intensify the power of cues, such as where the animals once encountered the food.
- 3 other featues of food also exert a powerful influence on our desire for more
1)quantity. Give a person 2 scoops of ice cream rather than one, and they'll eat more. Portion size matters.
2)Concentration of rewarding ingredients. Adding more sugar or fat boost its desirabilty ( up to a point)
3) Variety play an improtant role. Providing access to different kinds of foods makes you eat more. Making the foods more interesting like adding chocolate chips or different textures (likes oreos with bitter chocolate oand sweet cream) makes you eat more of the food.
WHAT THE EVIDENCE TELLS US is that sugar and fat, as well as the cues predicting that sugar and fat are available, can condition the behaviour of those who are vulnerable.
Some interesting thoughts.